In 2010 the Department of Health commissioned Runnymede to document the contribution made by people of Asian descent to the NHS since its inception in 1948. On this website you will find details of the book that emerged from that project along with information about those we interviewed.

A similar book - Many Rivers to Cross - published in 2006, documented the contribution of Caribbean people to the NHS.

Nurturing the Nation provides information on the migration journeys and working lives of 40 NHS staff, all of Asian descent, who came to the UK from various parts of the world.

You will meetnurses and midwives from Mauritius, Trinidad and Malaysia; doctors and dentists from India, Kenya, and Singapore; and psychiatrists and therapists from Pakistan.

The majority of the featured individuals have retired, or are approaching retirement, but many still work within the Health Service and most, if not all, continue to play an active role in their local communities, either as health professionals or in other important ways.

This website gives you a small picture of the experiences of 40 people who have contributed, and continue to contribute, greatly to the NHS.

Their stories echo those of many others who have made similar journeys from across the world, to work in the UK, in order to provide an essential service to the people who live here.